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New data compiled by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee shows that, last year, the United States government spent over $60,000 to support welfare programs per each household that is in poverty. The calculations are based on data from the Census, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congressional Research Services.

"According to the Census’s American Community Survey, the number of households with incomes below the poverty line in 2011 was 16,807,795," the Senate Budget Committee notes. "If you divide total federal and state spending by the number of households with incomes below the poverty line, the average spending per household in poverty was $61,194 in 2011." (emphasis added)

This dollar figure is almost three times the amount the average household on poverty lives on per year. "If the spending on these programs were converted into cash, and distributed exclusively to the nation’s households below the poverty line, this cash amount would be over 2.5 times the federal poverty threshold for a family of four, which in 2011 was $22,350 (see table in this link)," the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee note.

The article goes on to note that, "The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that almost 110 million Americans received some form of means-tested welfare in 2011."

Now, look, as a Tea Party guy, I'm rather acutely aware of how much money Barack Obama has spent in his 4 years as President, but these numbers are just staggering - even for policy wonks and political veterans.

One would think that all this spending on welfare programs would produce an appreciable decrease in poverty rates. After all, when spending per household on welfare programs is over 300% of the poverty level, the beneficiary households should be very comfortable indeed. One would, sadly, be wrong.

According to the US Census, individuals below the poverty line have increased from just under 40 million in 2008 to over 46 million in 2010, an increase from 13.2% to 15.1% of our population. In other words, we've thrown WAY more money at the problem, which has paradoxically only made the problem worse.

See, that's the problem. Government is presumed to know better how to spend your money better than you do. Reminds me of the quote from Bill Clinton:

In a post-State of the Union speech in Buffalo, NY on January 20, 1999, Bill Clinton was asked why not a tax cut if we have a surplus. Clinton's response:

"We could give it all back to you and hope you spend it right... But ... if you don't spend it right, here's what's going to happen. In 2013 -- that's just 14 years away -- taxes people pay on their payroll for Social Security will no longer cover the monthly checks... I want every parent here to look at the young people here, and ask yourself, 'Do you really want to run the risk of squandering this surplus?' " (emphasis added)

Source: Washington Times, January 21, 1999

Typifying the arrogance and conceit of DC elites, this quote also reveals a mindset that couldn't possibly conceive of waste, fraud and abuse inherent in their Rube Goldberg contraptions disguised as public assistance agencies.

What the class warriors know and their critics often don’t understand is that the real welfare queens aren’t the ones shouting about voting for Obama because they’re getting free phones. They’re the ones who administer the free phone programs.

The welfare state isn’t run for the benefit of welfare recipients, it’s run for the bureaucracy that dispenses welfare and their contractors, with the welfare recipients as the pretext for the whole scam.

This $60,000 figure is misleading. Average American pays an effective tax rate of 30%, that means before tax welfare is actually $85,714.29. In other words, unless you make over $86,000 there is no point in you going to work.

President Poutypants is really revealing his petulant side. The government has shut down several times before now, but this president has been so spiteful as to close down outdoor monuments and even privately-funded sites that have never been shut down before. Now, his foot-stomping has sunk to a whole new low.

I attend Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. It’s a pleasant place, the people are friendly, the landscape of the college is beautiful, and the academic rigor is intellectually stimulating. Some of the things that I’ve learned since becoming a temporary Michigander are that the weather is utterly and truly unpredictable, that Ohio State fans are worst people on earth (their words, not mine), and that native Michiganders insist that “soda” is something you bake with and “pop” is the thing you drink. (They’re wrong.)

Michigan state is hurting and its failings can be traced to one party rule at the hands of Democrats and the unions (which are likely synonymous). Detroit is now bankrupt, corrupt, and the most dangerous city in America, and residents continue to flee. As Detroit was the engine (pun intended) of Michigan’s economy, it has affected the entire state.

On September 27, NBC News revealed what all 26 viewers of MSNBC already knew: the entire corporate media behemoth is in full on water carrying mode for the Obama Administration. A week-long series of special reports on Obamacare began on the nightly news on Monday.

The Obamacare individual mandate will disproportionately affect those who can least afford it. Rather than simply allow people to buy health insurance if they wish to do so, the "Affordable Care Act" imposes a fine if you don't. But for many people without means, the insurance, even with subsidies, will be too expensive. The law amounts to a tax on being poor -- a Poor Tax.

There are a lot of myths about the looming government shutdown. The biggest one is that it is, in fact, a government shutdown. The country will not descend into anarchy, there will not be chaos in the streets (well, no more than usual) and, really, we don’t need to panic if it happens. Here’s the deal.

Personal Freedom and Prosperity 109: SubsidiarityThis tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization, which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom.

[UPDATE: 9/24, 2:30 p.m. ET. In a surprise move, Senator Cruz has just begun a filibuster of the motion to proceed. Apparently, he was concerned that the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was working with the Democratic leader, Harry Reid (R-Nevada) to outmaneuver him later in the process. So he took his chance to seize control of the floor a couple of days earlier than expected. FreedomWorks strongly supports Sen. Cruz's efforts. Help spread the word and pressure the Senate to defund ObamaCare using the hashtags, #KeepCruzing, #MakeDCListen, and #DefundObamaCare.]

With President Obama's umpteenth (twentieth, if you're counting) pivot back to jobs and the economy, there has been a lot of trotting out of the concept that meaninful economic recovery must begin with the "middle class". Politicians, economists, and pundits alike have all revived the meme, but almost none are directly addressing that fact the "middle class" has reached the mythical status of unicorns or free health care for all.

I remember the Old Age — the time Before Obama. We had cruel rulers who were so focused on wars and greed that they never shared a vital secret with their subjects. These latter-day Neros and Caligulae never once told the dessicated masses about a simple, life-giving treasure. The treasure of Water.It was a dark time. A thirsty time.